It’s my Parting Shot to debate the polarizing issue of fighting in hockey, especially amongst fans, media and administrators in Western Canada…..

In short, it may be becoming an issue that is keeping potential ticket buyers away. And, not health, moral and religious concerns…although in today’s world of COVID-19, mandatory masking and proof of vaccination that is a concern as well.

A week ago, a post came through my twitter feed showing a Regina Leader-Post headline and story, with pictures, from October 4th of 1981, in which the Pats and Saskatoon Blades engaged in a contest that including a bench-clearing brawl that lasted more than 10 minutes!

Among the responses to the tweet, “Damn, I miss those days”, “good ol Western League not for the faint of heart in those days” and “Lots of fun for the spectators!”

Those days are never coming back, folks, because the rules against fighting in and around the sport have been tightened up so as to make potential combatants think more than just twice about being involved!

A lot of the blow back against fighting has to do with player safety and concussions. That was a word 40 years ago that wasn’t a part of the hockey vernacular. Back in those days, you got your bell rung. The bad, old joke was the trainer would hold up three fingers and ask the player with the head injury, how many? The foggy player would say Wednesday and he’d be sent back into battle!

Not many people laugh at that anymore. In fact, a veteran junior hockey journalist and observer, who used to report on the brawl-filled games from the 1970s and 80s, wrote recently on his blog, and I quote the great Gregg Drinnan…”The time for the W-H-L to get rid of fighting…teens punching each other in the face…passed us by a long time ago.”

While he may be right, and hockey is slowly but surely going in the direction of abolishing on-ice fights, there appears to be a segment of potential ticket buyers in Western Canada, especially on the Prairies with a blue-collar background, who will turn to mixed martial arts and other sports endeavours in which fighting is allowed, even encouraged, and away from hockey as a result!

And, unfortunately, attendance is suffering as not enough folks realize the sport’s reputation has changed with speed and skill the focus, not brawling!!

That’s my Parting Shot, I’m Les Lazaruk…..